


Maybe

by rankyaku



Series: One Piece Reader Inserts [3]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Cuddles, Fluff, Multi, Romantic Fluff, blackbeard doesnt exist, i cant help making cute things for them, luffy and ace are the absolute softest boys, we dont like him in this house, yes more cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-29 17:17:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21413797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rankyaku/pseuds/rankyaku
Summary: You didn’t like Portgas D. Ace, and Portgas D. Ace absolutely did not like you.
Relationships: Portgas D. Ace/Reader
Series: One Piece Reader Inserts [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1543588
Comments: 1
Kudos: 103





	Maybe

You glared at tall man in front of you. The nerve he had, showing up out of nowhere, dirty and disgusting.

“Ace. I cannot believe you.” Was all you had said, tone laced with fury. Although he didn’t seem to mind, offering you his naturally bright grin. He stepped forward; arms outstretched. The look on his face told you exactly what he wanted, but there was no way in hell you were going to give it to him.

“Oh, no. Do not come near me. You look and smell like a squabbling family of sewer rats piloting a waterlogged corpse.” You spat, taking multiple steps away from him, arms coming to cross over your chest. Ace froze at your very interesting choice of words, before he burst into laughter. Doubling over, clutching his stomach, you watched in disdain as water dripped from his curly, wet bangs.

“What does that even mean, [y/n]? That has to be the funniest thing I’ve ever heard you say!” He howled out between fits of laughter. Your eyes narrowed even more, giving him the harshest glare you could muster. It wasn’t as if what you said was wrong, he was soaked to the bone, he smelled like he hadn’t showered in weeks, and he was paler than all hell. Frankly, you were too scared to ask what had happened to him, but knowing Ace, he was bound to tell you eventually.

Once his fit of laughter had calmed down, he straightened himself up, his arms returning to their previous outstretched position. You took a few more steps away, shaking your head at him, noticing the pout and puppy dog eyes he was attempting to pull on you. He shuffled closer still, forcing you to back up against the railing of the ship.

“That look isn’t going to work on me this time Ace, not when you look and smell like you died and came back to life. Go take a shower and maybe then I’ll hug you.” You instructed, pointing to the stairs leading below deck. Ace continued to pout, but finally stopped advancing on you when he was an arms length away. You kept your glare locked on him, worry bubbling in your chest that he was going to close the distance and force you to hug him. You really didn’t feel like spending the next few hours in the shower trying to get the dirt and grime he was surely going to get on you, off.

“Ace stop harassing [y/n]. Go have a shower, you're stinking up the whole ship-yoi.” A voice called from somewhere in front of you. Over Ace’s broad shoulders, you could see the familiar pineapple hairdo of your first divisions leader. You grinned at him, bringing your arm up to wave. You heard Ace groan, his head dropping in defeat.

“Marco, you saved me!” You shouted, sticking your tongue out at a very depressed looking Ace.

“Marco, you saved me!” Ace mocked, completely failing to sound anything like you, to which you glared at him again. 

“I do not sound like that!” You argued, arms coming to back up to cross over your chest. It was Ace’s turn now to stick his tongue out, throwing you a mischievous wink as he began walking to the stairs. Marco shook his head, at the both of you, but more so at Ace.

“You both are ridiculous. If only you’d just make out already-yoi.” Marco jabbed jokingly, although you weren’t so sure it was a joke. Your eyes widened in horror, and a disgusted groan left your mouth.

“That’s so gross, Marco! I would never, ever wanna make out with him of all people!” You spoke, turning your back to your superior. You heard him laugh, muttering something about _we’ll see-yoi_, before you heard him walk away.

You glared out at the water, bringing your hands up to cheeks in an attempt to quell the heat that you felt rising. You shook your head, muttering to yourself about absurd and dumb that was. You? Making out with _Ace_? Unbelievable! Not in a million years, not if it was life or death. You didn’t like Portgas D. Ace, and Portgas D. Ace absolutely did not like you!

With a sigh, you pushed yourself away from the railing, wandering off around the ship to finish up what few chores you had left until dinner came around. You busied yourself with spot cleaning already clean parts of the deck, as well as organizing an already organized ammunitions room. Anything to distract yourself from what Marco had said, in fear that the heat you had finally gotten rid of would rise back to your cheeks.

When dinner rolled around, you were among the first to head into the canteen. Grabbing a plate and piling it with all sorts of good food you were sure Thatch had worked hard on preparing. Glancing around the almost empty room, you figured it was better to find somewhere to sit before the rest of the crew rushed in and trampled the place.

Marco called out to you, waving you over to the table he sat at with Jozu and Thatch. You happily walked over, thankful to have some people to talk to while you ate, or a conversation to listen to, as Thatch often liked to talk on and on, barely letting anyone get a word in themselves. You greeted the three men at the table, sitting next to Jozu and across from Marco. Thatch immediately jumped into his ramblings after greeting you, talking animatedly about whatever news he had heard today. You never understood how he could talk so much and still finish his food; you never really saw him put any in his mouth. Nonetheless, you enjoyed listening to him, he always had some new, exciting information to talk about.

It wasn’t long after you had sat down that door burst open and the rest of the crew flooded in. You didn’t pay much attention to what was going on around you, until you were unceremoniously pushed into Jozu by someone sliding in all too close to you. Jozu shifted over slightly, allowing you more space so you weren’t crushed between him and whoever had decided to be so rude. You caught Marco nudging Thatch, a smirk on both of their faces. Confused, you turned your head to look at your guest, eyes narrowing immediately as you realized who it was.

“That hurt, Ace.” You scowled, reaching your hand down to tenderly rub your now aching hip. He slid in next to you so powerfully that it was bound to be bruised by the next morning. He said nothing, only offering you a sheepishly annoying smirk before he wolfed down his entire two plates of food. You watched in disgust as he got food quite literally all over his face and hands, then laughed as he almost choked.

“I wonder if you actually taste any of that food, Ace.” Jozu commented, causing a laugh to erupt from your throat. You caught Ace glaring at him out of the corner of your eye and watched in amazement as he actually slowed down enough to chew the remaining food he was shoving in his mouth. It was silent for a moment, as Ace finished chewing and swallowed.

“For your information, I do actually. And it’s amazing as always, Thatch.” Ace replied pointedly, refusing to look at Jozu as he kept his gaze on Thatch. Thatch gave a laugh, shaking his head at the younger division commander. He thanked Ace, who most likely didn’t hear it as he immediately went back to eating like an animal. You shook your head and sighed, finishing up you own meal as Thatch went back to talking. 

You were the first to excuse yourself, thanking the men around you for keeping you company. You headed out of the canteen, making your way below deck to your room. As your hand clasped the knob of your door, a voice called your name. Looking up, you watched as Ace barreled down the hallway towards you. Opening the door to your room, you attempted to dodge his oncoming attack, but failed miserably as he tackled you to the floor of your room. You groaned as you felt all the air escape your body as he lay on top of you.

“Your taking my breath away.” You wheezed from underneath him, hands coming up to push at his biceps. He laughed, grinning down at you confidently.

“You say the sweetest things, [y/n]!”

“No, I mean literally. Get off of me, you big ape!” His eyes widened as he finally realized he was crushing you, jumping up and off of you as quick as possible. He extends his hand out to help you up, his other hand rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He refused to meet your eyes after hoisting you to your feet, which you found quite strange, but didn't comment on it. You both stood there in silence for a moment, before you sigh and turn away from him.

“Do you need something?” You ask, sitting down on the edge of your bed. Ace jumps in surprise, as if he forgot you were there, even though _he_ was the one in _your_ room. He lets out a distracted laugh— one so obviously fake you can’t help but roll your eyes— as his face contorts in deep thought. You speak again after another moment of silence. 

“What’s bothering you? You seem to be thinking pretty hard, which is new for you.” Your attempt at a joke doesn’t seem to go over well with him as he frowns. He still doesn’t speak, and you decide then that you should probably be worried. Before you have the chance to open your mouth again, he moved towards you.

“Sorry, I’m just… Nervous.” Came his reply finally. It definitely wasn’t something you were expecting. Ace? The most confident man you knew, nervous? You feared he had caught something dangerous. You expressed your concern and his eyes blew wide, shaking his head so hard he looked like one of those novelty toys.

“I’m not sick or anything! I just don’t know…” He paused for a moment, worrying you further. So much so that you stood from your bed and approached him. You rested a hand on his forehead, frowning when he felt no hotter than normal. He stared at you, eyes flickering back and forth from your face to your hand. You moved your hand from his head to his arm, giving him a worried look.

“Are you sure you haven’t caught anything? I can take you to Marco if you want?” You offered, patting his arm gently. He shook his head again, stepping away from you slightly. To your surprise, he told you he had already been to see him.

“Marco told me to just man up and do it.” Was all he said, only adding confusion to your worry. However, before you could express your thoughts, he grabbed your hand resting on his arm, letting it drop back to you side. His hand then came up to cup your cheek, and you realized what was happening. There was no way he was about to kiss you, right? Right?

Wrong.

Slowly, you watched as he leaned into you, eyes already squished shut. Your body wouldn’t react, not that you really wanted it to. You couldn’t even put into words how long you had waited for this to happen, how many times you and Ace had been so close to each other, both secretly hoping this exact moment would happen. Unfortunately, you both were too chicken, too scared to ruin your friendship with each other. You could have thought of a hundred different scenarios where you had been in the same position, if it wasn’t for the feeling of him kissing you.

You body shocked back to life at the feeling of his mouth on your own, and you responded eagerly. Ace paused for a moment, as if shocked that you didn’t push him away, before his hand left your face, joining his other one on your waist. Your own arms reach up to interlock around his neck, pulling him closer to you than you thought possible. He broke the kiss— too soon, you thought— and rested his forehead against yours. He beamed at you happily, as you reached up to brush a strand of hair from his face.

“So…” He whispered quietly, smile never fading from his face. “How about that hug?”

You snorted, shoving his shoulders gently with a shake of your head and his arms encircled around you, capturing you. He walked you over to your bed, hoisting you up and laying down before climbing in himself. His eyes closed as soon as his head hit the pillow, long limbs snaking out to entangle you in between them as he sighed.

“Screw the hug, actually. This is much better.” He muttered before loud, obnoxiously fake snores poured out of his mouth. You nudged him in warning, mumbling that if he didn’t stop you would kick him out. He laughed, calling your bluff in a teasing tone, before he was out. You knew there was no way you were getting out of this, so you decided your best course of action was to settle in for the night, the warmth radiating off of Ace more than enough to lull you into dreamland.

Maybe you did like Portgas D. Ace. And maybe he did like you.


End file.
